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INDI Library v2.0.6 is Released (02 Feb 2024)

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

Troubles INDI controls with my AZEQ6

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Hope someone can give me some advices.
8 years 3 months ago #6160

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I'm somewhat confused by your problem, it's not clear what your setup is, you talk about using the handpad, and the PC-direct functions at the same time. Which indi driver is controlling the mount ? If you are using the synscan driver, in which case you should not be using the PC-Direct stuff at all, or, are you using the EQMod driver, in which case you should not be pushing buttons on the hand controller after putting the system in PC-direct mode.

If you are using slew controls on the mounts hand controller, while in PC-direct mode, the hand controller and the pc will get out of sync with each other.
8 years 3 months ago #6168

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Well I will try to be more clear.
My setup:
AZEQ6-->Hand Pad(PC direct)-->Indi lib(EQMod driver)-->Odroid >> Wifi << Laptop-->Kstars/Ekos(EQMod)
After initializing, setting polar alignment I point a target (Vega for example) and switch to PC direct mode.
Start Ekos and go to kstars. This is when I saw that telescope is pointing half a minute at least of the choosen target.
Trying to do a slew to target, going to the telescope and I saw in the finder that the telescope moved of the previous offset.
Going out of PC direct. Re-centering the target and back to PC-direct.
Back to the laptop, disconnect the mount than reconnect it and :( unfortunately got the same result as previous.

Have done following checks:
Synchronize the coders;
Align precisely the locations in the handpad and kstars;
Align precisely the time and date in handpad and laptop;

But got the same result. I guess that there is something wrong in the chained devices and software but I can't even imagine what can be the problem.
This evening if the sky is clear I will test direct connection to laptop suppressing the remote server side.

My question remain : can I unplug the handpad after calibration and polar alignment to connect a direct eqmod cable ?
Last edit: 8 years 3 months ago by Patrick.
8 years 3 months ago #6177

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ok, with that setup, it sounds like you missed one important step.

After connecting everything, and pointing at vega, there is a discrepancy between where the mount is pointing, and where EQMod is reporting. So, when you are at that point, Vega is centered in the finder, but KStars is showing things off a bit, issue a sync command from Kstars on Vega. This will tell EQMod how much the pointing and reporting are off from each other, and correct it, and the planetarium will now show the correct position.

EQMod contains a multi star alignment routine, and it's quite likely that when you slew to a vastly different part of the sky, it will be off again. Sync again in a different spot, and you now have the equivalent of a two star align. Do it again in a third location, and you have the equivalent of a 3 star align. After setting 3 sync points in various parts of the sky, overall pointing should be fairly accurate, and you can improve it with more sync points as time goes on.

Once you switch to using EQMod thru pc-direct, you should not be taking the hand controller out of pc-direct mode and manipulating the mount with the hand controller after making the switch. To fine tune pointing, use the manual slew controls in the EQMod panels, then use the sync command from the planetarium to synchronize the planetarium and the mount.

If you are using eyepiece and looking thru the telescope, you need to go thru the same type of procedure as you would when doing a 3 star align with the hand controller, except using the indi control panel to adjust the mount, then issue sync commands from the planetarium to lock in the co-ordinates after adjustments. It's essentially the same as doing a 3 star align with the hand controller.
8 years 3 months ago #6189

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If you are using the hand controller routines to improve your polar alignment, yes, you can switch to the other cable once done. If it was me, to avoid possible electrical problems while unplugging and re-plugging, I would park the mount first, turn it off, then swap the cables and power it all back on.
8 years 3 months ago #6191

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To synchronize, I must track but if I track I get an offset on the position and the target leave the center of the field. I don't un derstand why I have to track before synchronizing but kstars asks for it.
8 years 3 months ago #6197

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If you just slew with kstars, the mount will slew to position, but will not start tracking. You need to be tracking a target to sync on it.

Other planetariums do it slightly different. If you are using Cdc, it will start tracking after a slew, on the assumption that's what you wanted it to do. Technically, Kstars does it correctly, but Cdc does it more intuitively.
8 years 3 months ago #6198

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Tested all the devices and software linked. All works but I still have some difficulties with parking on handpad and unparking under kstars. When I unparked under kstars looks like the parking position is lost and when I asked to a target under kstars the scope points at wrong place.
Another difficult thing is to center object with the ekos pad. Buttons are too little and it is easy to have the mouse pointer outside the button.
Is it possible to use a joystick to do this pointing operation. Does this function exists under ekos ?
8 years 3 months ago #6214

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Oups, I just discovered that I can do all alignments and training of the sky with the alignment tab.
I will test it when the sky will come back clear.
8 years 3 months ago #6246

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